1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for storing disc-type recording media and, more particularly, to an apparatus designed to more easily and effectively store a plurality of disc-type recording media, and allow a user to more easily seat or take a recording media in or from the apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In accordance with the recent trend of rapid development and general use of computers, a variety of disc-type recording media, such as a CD-ROM, a CD-R and a CD-RW recorded with programs or data and designed to be used with computers, have been proposed and widely used. In addition, people in recent days more widely use DVDs, in addition to a conventional music CDs. Such disc-type recording media may replace paper documents, since the media is very convenient for keeping and handling. In accordance with a rapid increase in the amount and kinds of data to be recorded or stored in a media, the amount of disc-type recording media for home use or office use has quickly increased.
In order to store a plurality of discs within a limited area or space, a disc storage box of FIG. 1 has been generally used. Such a conventional disc storage box 1 is partitioned in its interior into several storage cells by a plurality of partition walls 2, and stores a plurality of disc cases 3 inside the cells. However, the conventional disc storage box 1 is problematic in that it forces a user to take a required disc case 3 from a cell and then open the case 3 prior to removing a disc from the case 3 when the disc is required to be used. When it is needed to store a disc in the storage box 1 after using the disc, the user is forced to carefully seat the disc inside the case 3 prior to storing the case 3 in an empty cell of the box 1. In addition, the disc case 3 has a considerable thickness and volume, thus undesirably consuming an excessive space inside the storage box 1. Therefore, the number of cells provided in the conventional disc storage box 1 is undesirably limited. Furthermore, when a plurality of disc cases 3 are seated in the cells of the disc storage box 1 without a classification of the discs according to their contents, a user must consume excessive time while finding a desired disc along the cells of the box 1.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for storing disc-type recording media, which easily and effectively stores a plurality of discs therein and automatically receives or ejects a disc in response to a simple manipulation of a button.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for storing disc-type recording media, which has a simple and reliable operational mechanism suitable for easily and effectively storing and ejecting the recording media as desired.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for storing disc-type recording media, which can be connected to an external computer and allow a user to easily identify stored discs through a monitor of the computer, thus letting the user more easily find a desired one of the stored discs when necessary.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides an apparatus for storing a plurality of disc-type recording media, comprising: a casing; a tray rack installed inside the casing, with a plurality of disc trays loaded with discs thereon and arranged along a vertical direction inside the tray rack to be ejected or retracted relative to the casing; a lifting unit vertically moved inside the casing to actuate a selected one of the disc trays; a belt assembled with the lifting unit so as to move the lifting unit in the vertical direction; a first motor operating the belt; a horizontal moving unit assembled with the lifting unit and vertically moved along with the lifting unit, the horizontal moving unit being horizontally movable forward or backward relative to the lifting unit and detachably holding a selected one of the disc trays; and a drive means for horizontally moving the horizontal moving unit holding the selected disc tray forward or backward.